Floor-engaging furniture-support.



C. N. CLARK.

FLOOR ENGAGING FURNITURE SUPPORT.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 19. 1912.

1,1 59,570. Patented Nov, 9, 1915.

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TOQZZQLUILOHL it my cam ra. i l Be it kn'ownth-at I, GHARLrENF-CLARK, a citizen of the United States, residingat Minneapolis, in the'county of Hennepin and State" of Minnesota, have invented""certain new and useful Improvements in Floor-En gaging F urniture supports; and I do hereby declare the followingto be afjulll clear, and exact descriptionjolf the invention, such as will enable others "skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has for its object to a simple and eflicient supporting foot or device for bedsteads, dressers, and various other articles of furniture, such as are usually supported on caster wheels, and to such ends, generally stated, the invention consists of the novel construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and defined in the claim.

Casters, as is well known, when engaged with the floor, scratch or mar the same by making depressions in the floor. Various substitutes for casters have also been provided and in some instances, the casters have been set in so-called caster sockets. The devices used as substitutes for casters or for the reception of the casters have sometimes been provided with pliable faces and sometimes with hard smooth faces, such as metal or glass, for engagement with the floor. The glass or metal faces, it has been found, will mar or scratch the floors and the pliable faces hitherto employed, have been subject to the objection that they would absorb moisture, and when damp, would stick to the floor or mar the floor finish.

The improved facing which I employ in accordance with my invention is made of pliable material which will not mar the floor and is treated with a water proofing material such as paraffin or other Wax, for example, which renders the said pliable fac ing nonabsorbent of moisture. A pliable nonabsorbing facing of this kind will not stick to a floor and will not scratch or otherwise mar the floor or its finish. This improved facing, in some instances, is applied to a furniture foot to be used as a substitute for a caster, and in other instances, I apply the same to a caster socket for use in connection with a caster. Both of the above kinds of devices I herein designate broadly as a floor engaging furniture support.

My invention also involves novel features thereof. The

foot itself. v p i In the accompanying drawings a which Illustrate the lnvention, like characters indidirected to theconstructure of the furniture cate like parts throughout the several views.-

" Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a viewin'side' elevation showing the improved furniture foot; Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on, the 00 w on Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is aviewin elevation showing a caster socket provided with .my improved facing; and ,[F1g{ j 1s a section taken on the line 0* m on]? 1g. 3.

Referring first to the construction illustrated in Figs. 1, and 2, the numeral 1 indicates a truncated approximately conical metal shell which is spun or pressed from quite thin but stiff sheet metal. The numeral 2 indicates a tapered solid metal stem 2, the lower end of which rests upon the small. upper end of the conical base 1, and is provided with a depending centrally located lug 3. The numeral & indicates a retaining washer which is placed Within the conical base 1 and is of such size that it cannot be drawn quite through the small end lug 3 is passed through the central perforations of the retaining washer 4 and is upset or reversed, to thereby rigidly secure the said base 1 and stem 2 together. The bottom plate 5 of the device is constructed from sheet metal spun or pressed into dish-shaped form and having its out-turned flange coincident with the outer lower edge of the conical base 1, and directly engaging the same. The pliable nonabsorbent facing 6 is fit closely against the bottom surface of the bottom plate 5 and is of approximately the same diameter as the flange thereof. The said parts 1, 5 and 6 are rigidly connected together by a retaining ring 7 having one flange that underlaps the raised edge of the pliable facing 6 and having an upper flange that is overlapped with the lower edge of the conical base 1 and is contracted against the same so as to rigidly connect the said parts.

In Figs. 3 and (t, the numeral 8 indicates a caster socket, the outer and lower contour of which is approximately the same as that of the caster foot above described, and against the lower surface of which the pliable nonabsorbent facing 6 is applied. In this construction, the pliable facing is held to the socket 8 by a retaining ring 7 corre sponding in shape to the retaining ring 7 NTFMQ a k CI-IARLIE in? 0min For irrnivnaromsj "MINNESOTA; X

and applied in approximately the same way, to-wit, by having its lower flange engaged with the raised upper edge of the facing 6 and having its upper flange contracted against the upwardly tapered outer surface of the said socket.

The facing 6 and 6 may be constructed from different materials, but I have obtained the best results by using a heavy cotton fabric, such as cotton belting, and saturating the same with a water proofing material such as paraffin wax. The pliable material thus w-aterproofed will not absorb moisture and, at the same time, is sufliciently pliable, so that it will not scratch or mar the floor or its finish. The wax produces a very smooth and slippery finish on the pliable facing and therefore make it a very easy matter to move the floor engaging furniture support, even when the weight of the furniture is thereon.

What I claim is:

A furniture foot comprising an approximately hollow conical body, a pan-shaped bottom plate having a raised horizontal marginal flange, a pliable facing applied to and following the form of the bottom of said panshaped bottom plate, and a flange retaining ring distinctively independent of the other elements, applied tosecure said bottom plate and facing together and to the lower edge of said conical body.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature Q in presence of two witnesses.

, CHARLIE N. CLARK.

Witnesses:

HARRY D. KiLeonn, F. D. MERCHANT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

